Is the discount real?

A crossed-out “was” price on a tag does not show that the discount is real. The United States has no single rule like the EU's 30-day rule, so you can check it yourself. It takes a few minutes.

How to check it yourself

1. Write down today's price and the crossed-out price, or take a screenshot.
2. Find what the store charged for the item in the last 30 days: if you added it to your favourites or a watch list a week ago, look at the price history there, or use a tracking site that shows price history.
3. Find the lowest price and do the calculation in the example below.
4. Also look at the same item's price in other stores. The product code or model name must be the same; a different colour or size changes the price.
5. If you cannot find the price history, you have not been able to check the discount. The decision is yours, but do not rely on the discount figure alone.

What the rule says

There is no federal 30-day rule. The Federal Trade Commission's guides on deceptive pricing (16 CFR 233.1) say a “former price” should be one at which the item was openly and actively offered, in good faith, for a reasonably substantial period in the recent past. The guides are guidance, not a fixed number of days.

“If the former price is the actual, bona fide price at which the article was offered to the public on a regular basis for a reasonably substantial period of time, it provides a legitimate basis for the advertising of a price comparison.”

Text of the rule, read October 21, 2026: www.ecfr.gov

Some states add their own rules on former prices.

This guide is general information, not legal advice.

An example

The numbers below are a round example, not a real product.

• Crossed-out price on the tag: $1,500. Today's price: $1,200. The tag says “20% off”.
• If the store's price for the item was $1,250 a few weeks ago, the drop compared with that price, from $1,250 to $1,200, is $50, or 4%.
• The difference is $50, not $300. The crossed-out price may be one the store did not charge in that period.

Calculation: real discount = 1 − today's price ÷ lowest price of the last 30 days.

What we measure

We do not measure store discounts in the United States. What we do measure, the costs and official prices of furniture and major appliances month by month, is on this month's page.